Sapphire, MonstersGT, ParticleIllusion
and a new direction for Tinder for After Effects

For over a decade GenArts had a single product – Sapphire – plug-ins for high end systems such as Flame, and in more recent times, After Effects. Recently GenArts has begun to diversify, acquiring Monsters GT from Speed Six, Tinder from The Foundry and Particle Illusion from Wondertouch. In this candid episode I discuss each of these products with GenArt’s Steve Bannerman. Read more…

What is FX Factory and why do you need it?

Noise Industries offers a range of GPU-accelerated plug-ins for After Effects and Final Cut. In this episode Niclas Bahn demystifies the FX-Factory platform and introduces three of the key plug-in packs available from Noise Industries, including FX Factory Pro, MoType and Nodes. Read more…

What are the key new features in After Effects CS5?

After Effects product manager Michael Coleman discusses the amazing new Roto Brush tool and other standout features in After Effects CS5. Read more…

Buddha Jones Trailers is the design house behind countless trailers for a variety of films including Inglourious Basterds, Kung Fu Panda and Repo Men. In this extended interview, designers Jason Liwag and Kim Tang share insights into what it’s like to work on movie trailers. Read more…

Are you ready for 64-bit?

Michael Coleman is the product manager for Adobe After Effects. In this interview, Michael discusses his background and how he juggled a university major in economics and a career in graphic and motion design. Read more…

Paul Babb is the popular and charismatic CEO of Maxon USA.
In this Cinema 4D–focussed episode of Unplugged we talk about
Paul’s early days, including a time in film and on the stage;
then dive head–first into Cinema 4D and MoGraph and what makes it
just the hottest 3D software out there right now. Read more…

John Montgomery dreamt of working in film and television from a very early age. For the past 3 decades John has lived that dream, honing his craft as a visual effects artist on high-end systems such as Flame and Smoke. In this candid interview John reveals how he got started in the industry, and came to be co-founder of FXGuide and FXPhd. Read more…

In this insightful episode of Unplugged, Artbeats founder Phil Bates shares how Artbeats began as a still image provider during the desktop publishing revolution of the 1990’s and has grown into arguably the most recognised stock footage provider in the world today. Read more…

Robert Leger’s Unplugged animation was recently chosen as the winner of the Unplugged Title Challenge. What is truly amazing is that Robert entered the Unplugged challenge with only 1 day left until the deadline. In the first Unplugged for 2010 Robert discusses his background, present work and of course the terrific title animation he created for Unplugged. Read more…

Lloyd Alvarez, the talented and generous founder of aescripts.com, planned to be a doctor. Somehow that didn’t work out and these days he’s an in-demand freelance designer and creative director, working for some of the biggest name companies around. Read more…

In this revealing episode of Unplugged, Ross Shain shares his journey from art college to Avid to Imagineer Systems – makers of the powerful Mocha, Mokey and Motor software applications. Ross clearly explains the difference between these popular tracking and rotoscoping packages and hints of great things just around the corner. Check out the huge holiday discounts! Read more…

In this episode of Unplugged, Jim Geduldick reveals how his passion for cinematography was born out of his love for skateboarding. We talk about Jim’s roles as an Apple technician, a designer for Mercedes and Little Airplane, and most recently, his role as Senior Digital Intermediate Artist at OffHollywood. We also touch on the importance of being Read more…

In this episode of Unplugged, Harry Frank of Graymachine discusses how he went from “button-pushing” audio engineer to accomplished motion design artist, and shares his belief that, with enough determination and time, anyone can learn to design. We talk about the tough times being faced by many in our industry right now and, on the lighter side, Harry gives Read more…

In part two of this must-see interview with Chris & Trish Meyer, Chris and Trish talk about the transition from book to web publishing via the ProVideo Coalition, live presenting, the price of training and downside of free content on the web, getting inspiration away from the computer and balancing technical knowledge with design skills, plus plenty more. Read more…

What were you doing in 1993? Chris & Trish Meyer were pioneering the use of Adobe After Effect for motion graphics. In part 1 of this extended interview, Chris and Trish discuss the rewards and challenges of being some of the earliest adopters of After Effects, and how that lead to a full-time career presenting, teaching and authoring the popular books Read more…

Relatively new to the online training scene, Nick Campbell has quickly established himself in the After Effects world, with his popular site Greyscale Gorilla. In this episode of Unplugged we discuss how Nick got started in the industry, his view on the benefits of university, and the challenges in his early freelance career. We also discuss Read more…

Based in Israel, Eran Stern is well-known in the After Effects world, thanks largely to his tutorials and podcasts for Creative Cow.  In this episode of Unplugged learn how Eran balances his focus between a worldwide audience and his growing Hebrew-speaking fan base. Eran also gives his thoughts on the ever-growing quantity of online training and chats about Read more…

Aharon Rabinowitz is widely recognized in the world of motion graphics but how much do you actually know about him? In this up-close and funny chat, we discuss how Aharon started in the industry and his years working with Creative Cow and now Red Giant Software. Aharon also speaks openly about the online tutorial phenomenon, copying tutorials Read more…

Mark Coleran is widely recognised in the motion graphics industry for his outstanding on-screen graphic design and production for numerous feature films including The Island, The Bourne Ultimatum and Alien Vs Predator. In this candid discussion Mark gives a revealing, behind-the-scenes insight into how he broke into the world of on-screen graphics, Read more…

Peder Norrby is the mastermind behind Trapcode. A gentle genius with a passion for art, music and programming. In this rare video interview, Peder reveals how this passion lead him to create arguably the most popular plug-ins for Adobe After Effects in the world today, including Shine, Particular and Form. Peder also reveals where the ideas for many of these Read more…

Robert Sharp got into video in the early 1990’s as one of the early members of Terran Interactive – makers of Media Cleaner Pro. In 2007 Robert relaunched Digieffects – makers of Cinelook, and the more recent Camera Mapper plug-in.  In this frank and open discussion Robert talks about the early days with Terran, founding Toolfarm, and what it took Read more…

Drop everything to watch Part 2 of this exclusive discussion. You’ll be riveted as Andrew reveals his thoughts on why Video Copilot is so popular, and how he and the company are perceived by the industry. Andrew also gives a behind the scenes peak into the production of the wildly popular Action Essentials 2 HD stock footage, and hints on the future of Video Copilot. Read more…

In just a few short years Video Copilot has skyrocketed to become the dominant force in visual fx and motion graphics training online, with it’s founder, Andrew Kramer, becoming an industry icon. In part 1 of this riveting interview Andrew discusses his fascinating journey from high school student to industry leader and what that has meant to Video Copilot Read more…

Did you know that the first 3rd-party effect to be bundled with Adobe After Effects was “Lightning”? Or that the Psunami water simulation plug-in was originally designed for the military? In Part 2 of the conversation with Brian Maffitt, Brian reveals these little-known facts and plenty more; including an in-depth, frank discussion about Total Training and how Read more…

Brian Maffitt is co-founder of Total Training and a legend in the Adobe After Effects community. I regard Brian not only as an industry leader but as a mentor, with his Total AE training series the corner stone of my After Effects knowledge. In part one of this two-part, candid interview we discuss Brian’s early years as an actor with a love for technology, leading to Read more…

Jerzy Drozda Jr, the quirky host of Maltaannon.com,  is a talented motion graphics and visual effects artist based in Warsaw, Poland. In this extended chat, Jerzy reveals how he discovered the wonders of computer programming at a very early age, his transition to Adobe After Effects mastery and the challenges of working with Polish clients Read more…

Zaxwerks is one of the veteran After Effects plug-in developers, with the 3D Invigorator range of 3D title and logo plug-ins as popular as ever. In this interview with Zax Dow we discuss the origins of Zaxwerks, the ProAnimator and new 3D Serpentine plug-in. Zax also touches on new features in the upcoming ProAnimator 5 and reveals how Zaxwerks Read more…

Coremelt is a relatively new player in the After Effect plug-in market, with a wide range of inexpensive Mac OSX-only plug-ins that are all 16bit and GPU-accelerated. In this chat with Coremelt’s Roger Bolton we discuss the origins of Coremelt and it’s plug-in range, with specific focus on the Shatter and Luminous products. Coremelt is also offering a $30 discount Read more…

Over the coming weeks and months I will be holding informal chats with various plug-in developers, designers and people of interest in our industry. This first interview is with Sean Safreed, the co-founder of Red Giant Software. Red Giant Software offers some of the most popular plug-ins on the planet including Magic Bullet Looks and the various Trapcode Read more…